Tag Archives: data type

I received a lot of attention from friends interested in programming after my recent blog post entitled “Introduction to Python Programming”. While many found it interesting, the fact that Python is more useful to mathematicians hindered sine of my friends desire to learn it as their first language.

In out conversations, my recommendation for a first language was JavaScript. This is a powerful language in the sense that just about anybody who is involved with the internet knows it, and it’s likely to boost a person’s resume. It also has many similarities to more powerful languages like C++ and Java, so while not trivial, it could be a good launch pad into more advanced languages. But my favorite reason is that unlike many other programming languages that rely in an MS-DOS like command like approach for run time interaction, JavaScript’s basic interaction is with the standard internet browsers we use everyday. There isn’t even anything you need to download or install. Just create a basic HTML file in a text editor (like notepad, wordpad, or notepad++). This makes it easier to show off your creations which makes learning more fun.

The script I’ve finished provides examples on writing output, declaring variables, data types, conditionals, loops, and functions. Although I do not go into detail about all the events and objects on an HTML page, I do finish with three examples of more advanced JavaScript programs. Once you’ve selected a program, the code well be revealed in the text area. There is also a button that, when clicked, will execute that script on a new HTML tab.

I hope you enjoy, and let me know if you have any suggestions or comments.

One of the somewhat unforeseen consequences of taking a career in applied mathematics, particularly in this day and age, is that you will eventually need to write computer programs that implement the mathematical algorithms. There are several languages in which one can do this, each with its own positives and negatives and you will find that things that are simple in some are difficult in another. After speaking with a number of people, both students and professionals who work with mathematics on a regular basis, I reasoned that it may be helpful to provide some source code examples to help mathematicians get started with programming in some of these languages. I decided to start with Python because its a powerful language, available for free, and its learning curve isn’t too steep.

I will be working with Python 2.7, which can be downloaded from https://www.python.org/download/releases/2.7/. I understand, however, that a limitation to coding is the required setup often necessary before one can even write their first line of code. So while I do encourage you to download Python, I will also provide a link to the online Python compiler at Compile Online, which should allow users to simply copy and paste the code into a new tab in their browser and by simply clicking the “Execute Script” command in the upper left corner, see the output of the code.